Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Palavi falls to Task Force 1

Soldiers of Task Force 1 (TF1) spearheaded by commando units today captured Palavi area. Palavi is located several kilometers west of A32 highway and south west of LTTE stronghold of Pooneryn. Troops entered Palavi at around 11am in the morning and are currently engaged in clearing operations in the area. Kiranchi, another LTTE held village south of Palavi, was captured by TF1 yesterday (10th). Fall of LTTE strongholds west of A32 now puts even more pressure on LTTE cadres stationed in Pooneryn, as their supply lines are being cut off by advancing troops.

Meanwhile Task Force 3 kicked off their operations in Wanni battlefront by annihilating a group of Charles Anthony cadres south of Kokavil last Friday. Although exact casualty details caused to the LTTE are not available as of this moment, TF3 units were able to recover 7 bodies of Charles Anthony cadres scatted in the area after the firefight.

148 comments:

I hope this is major breakthrough for the forces as it could be used to capture Poonarin area and push offensive from north. It will also give more fire power for SLA if they join together in Poonarin. As I always thought fight for Killinochchi will be the last with all direction. But still I hope SLA will not push national front towards Killinochchi Until SLA move their thermal detectors to detect LTTE heavy artillery.

Katch-Mate, I was referred to below..."Meanwhile Task Force 3 kicked off their operations in Wanni battlefront by annihilating a group of Charles Anthony cadres south of Kokavil last Friday. Although exact casualty details caused to the LTTE are not available as of this moment, TF3 units were able to recover 7 bodies of Charles Anthony cadres scatted in the area after the firefight."

"It would be great if TF 3 could link up with 59 Div and cut off the southern part of vanni!"

I believe SF mentioned that was the strategy. He said that after Mankulam falls, the whole area below Mankulam would be of no use to the pigs, hence he said Omanthai area would automatically fall as well, they will have to relocate their entry/exit point, he he he, can't wait for that to happen, I think they should relocate it to TN or greater eelam (Toronto again).

We can only speculate, the SLDF has surprised us all this time, previous missions have been predictable (i.e. Jayasikuru aka Suicidal March up the A9). This time, everyone (especially the pigs) have been taken in by surprise. 8 Man teams is a good example, who would think that a conventional army would adopt those tactics?

I wouldn't worry too much about SLAF bombings, the Mi-24s/35s are in action day and night. Honestly, our boys are literally everywhere, so there is a high likelihood for blue-on-blue, therefore they are restricting to CAS.

Especially Kumulamunai looks interesting. If looking at Google Maps, then there is a huge, wet, open area with a river in the middle between Tannimurippu Kulam and Kumulamunai. Probably has been difficult to cross for the 59th but seem to be crossed now. The LTTE's main road in the area also cut.

if you are strong and if u have back born why u crying for ceasefire? let innocent people to leave the jungle..and face the reality idiot...In your bloody eelam what we can see only mud huts and cemeteries..nothing els ..with the help of INOG ass**** u decorated some grave yards...u and ur VP destroy whole country for 30 years now u trying to destroy India too...your mentally ill and uneducated national leader wants more human lives..what he gained so far...tell me..idiot...we lost many Tamil & sinhala intellectuals for his crazy war...another 100,000 Muslims still live in the camps...fukc *** peter...like yourself so many enjoying western life because of this war..u bastard want this way forever ..bl*** asylum seeker..licking white man ass..go to hell leave sri lankan alone many Tamils live in whole country have no problem ...forget about 83 ..you sakkili created it 83 black July ..bloody racist tiger assH***..

Now LTTP is boxed in yakthuduwa (devil's point). I hope SLA will get all of them. How many cadres you expect to be there? I wonder why they didn't withdraw before Palavi falls. It seem some were there as SLA had fighting in Palavi and I don't see escappe route apart from sea.

DW reported 30 SLA KIA (30 LTTE also KIA.) But I didn't see that any where else. Any comments?

The Tamil Tiger which used to do everything at his disposal to mimic its closest match in the animal kingdom that ranged from stalking in the wilderness to mating from behind, have lost some stripes in the course of a few decades by natural process of aging.

There are folks among us who are hell bent on giving the brute a a facelift under the pretext of being polically correct or outstanding.

A UNP chap named Vajira from Galle, who used to boast about his womanizing skills to his contempararies, suddenly has demanded the halt to the war citing its futility, as if he got the divine vision for the desired outcome. Another chap called Dayasiri has taken to the task of humiliating the armed forces.

These chaps can save what is left of their credibility by being very open before cynical public by disclosing the latest transactions in their bank accounts. If we spot the arrival of a digital train in the form of zeroes, we are humble enough to attribute it to the inverse patriotism something these folks are very fond of potraying as its opposite.

Giving them the immoral boost is the digital man, Mangala, who introduced a digital membership cards to its members. He proves us that he is after all a so-and-so - politician. He sniffs at the air currents and make a statement; and it becomes the healine of some dailies.

What they do is not silly work; a delibearte attempt of self-promotion while taking up a new hobby something that nobody else will choose at a time lime this: painting the stripes of Tigers as they disappear.

having BMP-3 and Bahcha turrets for BMP-2's is a good idea, but getting license to manufacture could be over kill (at this stage)

We should start developing/manufacturing other simpler hardware; geared to our current and future doctrine of defense.

an IFV turret like the bahcha is a might not be economical nor worth the licence cost and plant cost,

ask your self how many IFV's can the SLA afford to have? 200~300 the most, and can we sell the turret?? is so at our production cost will it sell?

domestic production is good, I encourage that fully, but we must prioritize what to build and how, what to develop on our own with technical assistance.

Some times to buy the turrets would be cheaper than to set up a plant to make them locally, we can though make some spares for them at a cheaper price and become a supplier to KBP!!

Our development of local armor should start with wheeled vehicles and then move to tracks. Remember we don’t have money like Jordan, korea or turkey to buy license to manufacture hardware like amour, may be in the future when we have better motor mechanical expertise and skilled labor with the necessary infrastructure

I agree with what you say, the reason I said we should manufacture BMP-3 turrets is because it will give us valuable technical expertise, which could be important when we want to manufacture our own IFVs in the future. Think of it as a long term "technical know-how" investment. The Chinese will give us the technical expertise to build a tracked vehicle, if we asked them. I would like Lanka to start manufacturing their own IFVs in the future. Hopefully armed with a 100mm gun. :)

Nilaveli speaks English, so we have a golden opportunity to show the world the human rights violations committed by the LTTE. We need to get their story on record, in a more professional way using better equipment, and perhaps selected journalists. We could use clips from today’s film, such as the medical treatment given to them and their reaction when food and drinks were served.

Then if defence.lk could package the story with the embedded video in a format that could be easily forwarded as an email, we would make sure it will be seen by the whole world. With 27th November coming, we should be one step ahead of the LTTE.

No disrespect to the Army - The warfront is not the best place to carry out a recording such as this.

No disrespect to the Army - The warfront is not the best place to carry out a recording such as this.

I couldn't agree with that more, mate.

Yes, the soldiers of the 58 division do a great job under a great commander. However, the way they handle this teacher is not very commendable, although they have been very humane in terms of treating her wounds and feeding her.

It is obvious that she is a victim of circumstances; she has become who she was, as she didn't have a choice to be otherwise. I don't think she joined voluntarily and therefore, the term 'terrorist' should have been used a bit more cautiously. She did want to live, not die. So, she is not one of those who had been brainwashed.

In my opinion, more could have been extracted by making her feel at ease - a bit more - in the presence of men.

Since she surrended without a fight, the interviewing should have been done by the folks who have been trained for that specific task, without letting her feel humiliated.

Some may argue the fate of a soldier in the hands of the LTTE. No sensible person rate them as normal human beings and in that context, the way treat other human beings is not an issue - for comparison.

There may be hundreds of men, women and even children in her situation; they may be prepared to surrender, when given an opportunity and place to do so. I wish the army did everything at its disposal to save these lives, before being wasted. Otherwise, it could haunt our national conscience at a later stage.

Sending the big brute to an early grave looks the only way forward for the innocents who are forced to defend the indefensible.

I too have to agree with you there. When I first saw this clip I felt somewhat embarrassed by the way they had done this interview. There was a lack of dignity shown and the questioning was haphazard and unprepared. It was an off-the-cuff “show” put together without much thought or preparation. Definitely not something that should be done on the front lines. The questioning was patronising and sometimes rhetorical. Knowing the pukkaland psyche, we (Srilankans) can understand what’s going on but this stuff is definitely not to be presented to the international community unless SL wants to shoot themselves in the foot. I felt uneasy, to say the least, when the women were addressed as “terrorists” or “ex-terrorists”. Let us not forget they were forced to do it and they do demand our respect because they sacrificed their lives to the LTTE to save members of their families.

Not taking anything away from our professional soldiers who rescued the lives of their “enemies”, I don’t think this particular publicity attempt was as successful as it could be.

Our brave soldiers are exactly that, brave soldiers; good military PR may not necessarily be their forte. With enormous respect to the SLDF as always, for the invaluable service they are rendering to our motherland, a pukka saying comes to mind – “Ballagey veday boorova kara vagey…”

It is not too late. The government should call upon qualified military PR persons to exploit this golden opportunity to set the record straight and voice to the world with rock solid proof that the LTTE are indeed a terror group and they are not representing the Tamil Sri Lankans at all, lesser still being the sloe representatives of Sri Lankan Tamils. But it must be done to international standards by those who understand what those standards are.

On a positive note, it is fantastic to listen to Capt. Collurage who found the injured cadre. How he dealt with the situation is an example to the whole world. A Truly Disciplined and thoroughly Professional outfit!

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's political will and military planning will defeat the Tamil Tiger rebels, a legislator who fought with the guerrillas for more than two decades said on Thursday.

Ex-Tiger commander Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan last month metamorphosed from ruthless guerrilla into parliamentarian and de facto spokesman for President Mahinda Rajapaksa's plan to devolve power to the Tamil minority.

Just four months ago, the man best known by his nom de guerre Col. Karuna Amman was released from a British jail on visa fraud charges and narrowly escaped prosecution for war crimes stemming from his years as the Tigers' top battlefield commander.

Now, he appears in local newspapers and magazines, bedecked in sharp suits flashing a wide grin, insisting that he be called Murali, his name during his schoolboy days.

In an interview with Reuters at a safe house in the capital Colombo surrounded by elite army commandos, Muralitharan said his former comrades and erstwhile mentor, LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, are close to defeat.

"He has no future," Muralitharan, also known as Colonel Karuna, told Reuters in an interview. "He has a totalitarian policy. He never changed from that policy. He thinks like a duke, like a king. He never accepted any other idea."

Since 1983, Prabhakaran has led the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in their fight for a separate state for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils, who complain of marginalisation by governments led by the Sinhalese ethnic majority since 1948 independence from Britain.

From 1983 until 2004, Muralitharan was one of Prabhakaran's closest deputies. For most of that time he led 6,000 fighters in the LTTE's eastern command -- among the most battle-hardened and effective in the feared guerrilla outfit.

ut he split with Prabhakaran in 2004 and took his fighters to the government side, establishing the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) party and putting himself at the top of the Tigers' hit list.

A GOOD PLAN

LTTE policy demands death for defectors and the government is taking no chances with his safety.

Power went out during the interview, and when Muralitharan ushered a reporter out to the garden to wait for it to return, a dozen soldiers raced to guarding positions around the yard. At least four clustered around him as pulled up chairs to sit.

Muralitharan believes the key to the army's battlefield successes this time has been the power granted to the military.

"All plans were made by political leaders at the time. The army had no influence," he said. "Now our president gave a lot of power to them, at the same time Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a very good plan."

Rajapaksa, the president's brother, is a career military officer and had faced the LTTE in combat, with the present army commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, fighting on his flank.

"That plan is being implemented very well by Sarath Fonseka," he said. "That's why they are getting better at the battlefront now. They have captured a lot of areas. At any minute they will capture Kilinochchi."

That is the LTTE's defacto capital and a strategic and symbolic target for Rajapaksa's government, which threw out a 2002 ceasefire in January and declared it would destroy the rebels once and for all.

Muralitharan, most analysts say, has been one of the chief reasons for the military's progress, since his fighters helped the army swiftly seize huge rebel-held areas in the east in 2007. Since then, the army has recaptured much of the rebel-held north.

His reward for that was a parliamentary seat, after his TMVP won eastern provincial elections in May. Rights groups, however, have criticised his appointment.

Rajapaksa has pledged a similar devolution plan for the north, once the LTTE is defeated.

Muralitharan insists he does not advise the military: "Particularly because they don't need my advice."

But his deep strategic knowledge is amply evident.

From memory, he quickly sketched a map of the war zone and its roads on a reporter's notepad, and explained how the army would sweep the Tigers out of Kilinochchi and corner them at the eastern port of Mullaitivu. He declined to predict a timeframe.

It seems that our artists including actors and singers are making their voices heard in this significant moment of history to help the brave men and women in the battle field. Unfortunately, a few losers like Wiki-Kiri-Jaya-Abe group of UNP jokers and Mangala the useless still can't understand this. I strongly believe that these useless monkeys are in the process of clearing their ways to history's forgotten corners reserved for idiots.

Satellite imagery has revealed a number of runways in LTTE-controlled areas of Sri Lanka. This could either show civilian aspirations towards statehood or a desire to fly in weapons. Jane's looks at the evidence and suggests the latter is more likely.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is losing its war for an independent state in Sri Lanka. Since the effective resumption of the conflict in 2006, it has lost control of the Eastern Province and seen its forces slowly pushed back in the north. The LTTE's priority must now be to ensure a continued supply of arms and ammunition to prevent further defeats.

Given this situation and having suffered heavy losses to its ocean-going smuggling fleet, the LTTE now asppears to be preparing to fly in supplies to its stronghold in northern Sri Lanka. Commercial satellite imagery obtained by Jane's confirms that between 2004 and 2007, the rebels constructed two airstrips that can handle cargo aircraft capable of transporting weapons from Central or Southeast Asia.

While the imagery does not confirm the airstrips are in use, the investment of significant resources suggests the LTTE has developed facilities that can serve air logistics needs at a critical time in its three-decade war with the Sri Lankan state. Jane's can also confirm that the LTTE has made at least one attempt to arrange for a consignment of artillery rounds to be flown in.

LankaputhraThis no surprise to us and they may even air drop materials that will keep their war machine going. Also leaders when their backs are against the wall will flee East in those tin cans could be air dropped to one of their ocean going crafts to fight another day. I think the security forces must be on the look out for this. They might create a diversion to take all the attention or even bribe their way out of the island

DCThat fellow taken in at Ukkuwala may have been assigned to damage the ukkuwala hydro power plant generating nearly 25Mega Watts. They might try to cripple the power industry by going after the remotely situated power generating plants.

I have been watching the blog and the news, both accurate news and Pro GOSL websites. The GOSL is fighting a war that could never be won, they can capture land from its rightful owners by using force but they cannot distant the land from the hearts of its rightful inhabitants. The so called GOSL “victory” of this war is like a mathematical/algebraic function that forever keeps coming close to a given value (eg. infinity) but never quite gets there.

The prudent course of action is to settle for a compromise. The Sinhalese population never wanted to live in our areas due to the difficulties of terrain and the lack of other comforts they are used to. So what’s the point of owning the whole landmass? We can live in peace as neighbours minding our own businesses, couldn’t we? Most of the bloggers here seem to be educated people; surely you see the practicality of this solution – provided you put aside your excessive nationalistic pride and superiority complex.

Dear Selva , This land belongs to all Sri Lankans . So the rightful owners of the land are Citizens of sri lanka . Like the Tamils live in Wellawatte , Kotehana people will choose where to live where depending on their needs.The whole land mass is owned by the citizens . The war is for all Sri lankans for all of them to live in their lands of their own choosing. On the comforts don't worry we can develop the barren land to have the same little comforts as south.Only if we can finish this war fast and use that money for development.The curse we had for 25 years has to come to and end for both you and me.

Hi Kevin..About that guy arrested in ukuwela.Yes there is very high possibility for him to be eying the ukuwela power plant. Maximum vigilance is required from all citizens to prevent the tigers achieving their targets.

"Such well propagated myths have served some purpose for the LTTE in that they blunted the nation's will to fight terrorism to a finish. But, today, the military has blown them sky high. The fall of Pooneryn and Kilinochchi is only a matter of time and thereafter the LTTE will have no alternative but to run into the jungles and get ready for the final battle. This will be a nightmare for Prabhakaran, who bragged a few weeks ago that President Rajapaksa was daydreaming of taking Kilinochchi back. "

The issue is one you are quite obviously well aware of, though your childish uttarences make a mokery of your own intellect.

The Sinhalese of today do not want to occupy the land mass of anyone else, neither are they willing to see the nation fragmented for reasons obvious enough even for you.

For long, there has not been anything to discuss. Both sides even agreed to it, but the LTTE was successful in forcing each successive government into meaningless talks to defer military defeats whenever it is on a losing streak. Talks have always been detrimental to the overall Sri Lankan outlook and for its citizens' security.

Contiguity of our landmass is inviolable and our national security is dependent on its boundaries being secured.

In short, there's nothing to discuss, but a job to get done. Tell your people please, it's just business, nothing personal...

"M Raja, I did not insult your or make personal attacks on your character. Why are you resorting to childish antics? Can we kindly have a polite discussion please?"

How did M Raja make personal attacks? And why did you only respond to him and not kasunsiri?

"The so called GOSL “victory” of this war is like a mathematical/algebraic function that forever keeps coming close to a given value (eg. infinity) but never quite gets there."

This is more true of the LTTE's efforts. Despite the deaths of thousands of Tamils and displacement of thousands more, the LTTE is furthest from victory than it has been in its history.

"The prudent course of action is to settle for a compromise."

I 100% agree. Here are my suggestions:

LTTE should:1) hand over Prabakaran and Pottu Amman to the Indian authorities so that they can be prosecuted for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

2) immediately halt the recruitment of child soldiers and demobilize child soldiers currently serving. The UN can assist with this

3) Simultaneously the Black Tiger suicide bombers should be demobilized

The new LTTE leaders can announce these moves as confidence-building measures towards a permanent ceasefire and negotiations towards a political solution.

The peace process should necessarily include the disarmament of the LTTE: The LTTE does not have to disarm right away but could commit to a process supervised by a 3rd party. This disarmament process could be matched with parallel processes for the govt. to dismantle the high-security zones and disarm anti-LTTE Tamil militant groups.

"The Sinhalese population never wanted to live in our areas due to the difficulties of terrain and the lack of other comforts they are used to."

The Sinhalese should have the same right to live wherever they want as the Tamils do, as kasunsiri suggested.

"So the obsession with Charles Anthony goes on. Only thing is that they are an offensive unit and are not deployed in current defensive operations."

Once again Pete strikes out. The Charles Anthony unit served in both offensive and defensive roles throughout its history; in fact its first battles were defending against the SLA's Ops. Wanni Wickrama II & III in 1991.

The Charles Anthony Brigade is currently fighting on the frontlines because the LTTE is stretched for manpower.

Crawling The Coasts For ConquestsNovember 12, 2008: The army advance is still moving along the coast, where the monsoon rains are less of a problem. Troops are seven kilometers from opening a land link to the Jaffna peninsula (2,300 square kilometers of territory at the northern tip of the island, cut off from the rest of the island by LTTE controlled territory to the south, forcing the government, for the last 13 years, to use ships to supply the half million people in Jaffna.)

India has renewed its ban on the LTTE for another two years. So far, 30 nations have banned the LTTE, usually as a terrorist organization. But in the complex world of Indian politics, the LTTE still has allies. Some politicians from south India (especially Tamil Nadu, the ancestral home of the LTTE rebels) are particularly eager to condemn Sri Lanka for killing, or at least "not respecting" Sri Lankan Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire. The LTTE has been trying to use this Indian political support to force the Sri Lankan government to accept a ceasefire. But the Sri Lankans demand that the LTTE disarm first, and the LTTE won't do that. The LTTE wants a ceasefire so they can rebuild their army, and develop new guerilla and terror tactics to regain lost territory. The Sri Lankan government is determined to crush the LTTE army short term, and deal with the LTTE terrorists in the long term.

In northern Sri Lanka, the LTTE is conscripting all males aged 12-50 for military training, and to form a reserve for the several thousand active duty fighters who are facing the army along the front lines. To avoid military service, and certain death, more Tamil civilians are trying to flee LTTE controlled territory. This is not easy to do, because of the LTTE control over the fishing villages (and the boats there), as well as all the LTTE gunmen manning the front lines on land.

November 11, 2008: Troops advancing along the northwest coast have captured the LTTE held fishing village of Palavi. Further inland, troops are still stalled several kilometers from the LTTE capital of Kilinochchi.

November 7, 2008: Police arrested three Tamil men in the capital, and found that they were trained up north by the LTTE, to collect information on security arrangements around the capital. This was in preparation for more terror attacks. The LTTE is also believed to be using women and children to transport bombs, to avoid being searched by police. In the past, about 30 percent of LTTE suicide bombers have been women. The LTTE is rebuilding its guerilla and terrorist forces among the Tamil population along the eastern coast of the island. There may be as many as a hundred LTTE activists there now, and many of them are armed and shooting at security personnel and pro-government Tamil officials.

Troops of Army Task Force 1 have entered LTTE bastion at Ponneryn this morning (Nov 15) scoring the greatest feat against terrorist in their courageous march along the northwestern coast of the Island.

Infantrymen of 12 Gamunu Watch (12 GW) and 10 Gajaba Regiment (10 GR) successfully negotiated the great marshlands south of Pooneryn last night , and cut off the Pooneryn- Paranthan road (B-69) close to Nallur before dawn today. Troops then marched about 10 Km along the B-69 and entered into the Pooneryn town , where the terrorists have their last bastion on the West coast.

According to the defence sources at the field terrorists have given a stiff resistance to the advancing troops . Pitched battles are still going in the area, the sources said. The terrorists are fast withdrawing towards the K- Point.

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